If We Want To Understand The Actions Of A Man In The Early 1860's, Put Yourself Back There In His Shoes. As A Young Man He Began Piloting Steamboats On The Mississippi, A Job He Loved And Wanted To Do The Rest Of His Life, He Said. The Civil War Ended Traffic On The River And His Job. He Wrote About It In A History Of A Campaign That Failed. He Said: "i Joined The Confederacy, Served For Two Weeks, Deserted, And The Confederacy Fell." His Attachment To The Southern Ideal Of Slavery Does Not Appear Very Sturdy.